This Rainy Day Romance Might Have You Holding Back Tears

Most couples hope for sunny skies, but this is no ordinary couple.

By Samantha Garbarini

Lauren Wells &
Michael AhernOctober 22, 2016

While it’s said that raindrops on your wedding day bring a kiss of good luck, most couples still hope for sunny skies. But for Lauren and Michael, a dreary October day was an opportunity: “We got a couple of clear umbrellas and sent two photos to our photographer,” says Michael. “He put together a great concept of what we could do if it rained.”

(Bottom-left) Albany cake shop Crisan Bakery & Edible Art Gallery created this cake with dripping chocolate and gold leaf inspired by a photo Lauren found on Pintrest from an Australian bakery.

Michael is no stranger to creative thinking. An art director for film and TV, he met Lauren, a graphic designer, when both were working on the set of the 2012 film The Place Beyond the Pines in Schenectady. After four years together, the couple, then based in New York City, took an impromptu trip to Napa, where Michael proposed over breakfast on a sunny day.

(Right-bottom) The bridal shop dubbed Lauren’s glamorous lace dress by Dutch brand Olvi’s a ‘yoga dress’ because the stretchy fabric made it comfortable and easy to move in.

Finding a venue was a struggle at first. “In the beginning, I didn’t know where we wanted to get married,” recalls Lauren. “I was looking at barns, but I just didn’t feel that was our vibe.” Thinking Hudson’s artsy community and trendy food scene might be more their style, they visited Helsinki Hudson and fell in love with the 1860s building. “I loved the lighting, the windows, and the brick,” says Lauren. “Everything about it just spoke to us.”

Lauren and Michael spread their wedding over Helsinki Hudson’s four spaces, including dinner in the ballroom (above) and sharing their first dance at the downstairs club (below).

Long tables, candlelight, and jewel-tone glassware transformed the space into a dramatic banquet room. “We went big with the food,” says Michael, who jokes that they didn’t want to offer guests just “a cold piece of fish and a baked potato.” Instead, the couple planned a five-course feast of decadent dishes like cedar-planked Scottish salmon with mustard and horseradish, prime rib with rosemary jus, and a comforting fall squash casserole.

Michael didn’t see Lauren until she walked down the aisle. “I wanted that to be first time he’d see me,” says Lauren, who wore an off-the-shoulder lace dress. “I will always remember that moment,” adds Michael. “From then on, everything was this blissful blur of wedding fun.”